Splash curtain for belt grinder



May 1s, 1965 R. VER MEULEN 3,183,629

SPLASH CURTAIN FOR BELT GRIDER Filed May 22. 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 May 18, 1965 A R. VER zfMEUl-EN 3,183,629

SPLASH CURTAIN FOR BELT GRINDER Filed May 22, 196s 2 sheets-sheet 2 A TTOR/VEVS United States Patent 3,183,629 SPLASH CURTAIN FR BELT GDER Robert Ver Meulen, Kalamazoo, Mich., assignor to Hammond Machinery Builders, Inc., Kalamazoo, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed May 22, 1963, Ser. No. 282,271 6 Claims. (Cl. 51-135) This invention relates to an improved abrasive belt grinder, particularly to a vertical, wet, abrasive belt grinder having an improved shielding vstructure thereon, including a splash curtain, whereby splashing of the liquid onto the operator and onto the floor around the the grinder is minimized.

In vertical, wet, abrasive belt grinding operations, a liquid coolant is continuously applied to the surface of the abrasive belt as it travels toward the zone of contact with the workpiece, This liquid splashes against the workpiece and the table upon which it is supported and a considerable amount of it is thrown away from the grinder. Such liquid, if not confined, strikes the operator and/or falls onto the floor surrounding the grinder, all of which makes use of the grinder unpleasant and the area around the grinder quite messy. The operator may have to Wear rubber gloves and a large apron, and stand on a rack ott the door in order to tolerate these conditions. Even if these steps are taken, the working conditions are not pleasant and it is awkward and inconvenient for the operator to perform his job in an effective manner. Therefore, while wet grinding is highly desirable and in some instances essential, its use has sometimes been avoided because of these ditliculties.

While the splash curtain structure disclosed in United States Patent N0. 2,968,897, owned by the assignee of this invention, provides a solution to some aspects of this problem, additional improvements still are needed. In the structure of this patent, the splash curtain hangs downwardly in front of and close to the abrasive belt and the workpiece must be pushed under the curtain in order to engage the belt. Because of this, visibility of the grinding zone is obscured and may be cut olf entirely when the splash curtain becomes dirty. Moreover, a substantial amount of splashing still may occur.

There are many situations in which the wet grinder must be so constructed that the operator will have full visibility of the grinding zone and will have unrestricted access to the workpiece and the support therefor. At the same time, the operator should be protected from the splashing liquid as much as possible. The sides and rear of the grinder can be provided with stationary, upstanding walls to minimize splashing of the liquid in these directions. However, the front side of the grinder cannot be protected in this fashion because such may restrict access to the grinding zone. In many situations, an operator standing in front of the grinder must be able to angle his arms downwardly toward the workpiece and he must be able to maintain such position without discomfort for substantial periods of time. Further, it is desirable that the operator be able to move his arms around without substantial interference. Accordingly, the several requirements mentioned above plus others related thereto must be met in order to provide a commercially satisfactory splash curtain.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved, wet-type, abrasive belt grinder having improved means to restrict splashing of the liquid onto the operator and onto the iioor around the machine.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved splash curtain structure which may be attached to the front side of a wet-type abrasive belt grinder so that splashing of liquid onto the lower portion of the ICC body of the operator will be restricted while at the same time making possible easy and convenient access to the grinding zone.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved splash curtain structure, as aforesaid, which can be adjusted upwardly and downwardly on the grinder to suit varying conditions, or even be entirely removed where its use is not desired or necessary.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved splash curtain structure, as aforesaid, which is resiliently supported so that it can be iieXed downwardly in order that the operator can rest his arms thereon without discomfort and can move his arms as necessary to manipulate the workpiece without interference from the splash curtain structure.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved splash curtain structure, as aforesaid, which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and which is durable.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved splash curtain structure, as aforesaid, which can be supplied as a part of a new machine or which can be supplied as an attachment for an existing machine.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to persons acquainted with equipment of this type upon reading the following disclosure and inspecting the acompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE l is an oblique view of a wet-type, vertical, abrasive belt grinder equipped with the splash curtain structure embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a view of a fragment of FIGURE 1 on an enlarged scale.

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line III-III of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view taken along the line lV-IV of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, front elevational view of a modified splash curtain.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is a top plan view, partially broken away, of the modified splash curtain and showing its connection to a clamping block.

General description In general, the invention comprises a exible splash curtain which is mounted at the front end of a shielding structure on a wet-type grinder, the curtain preferably being mounted for vertical adjustment so that it may be raised or lowered to suit various operating conditions. The upper edge of the splash curtain is resiliently and yieldably supported so that it may be bent downwardly for the operator to rest his arms thereon without discomfort and to move his arms about without substantial interference. The splash curtain hangs downwardly and extends into a suitable pan on the grinder so that any liquid impelled against the curtain is directed thereby into the pan for collection and reuse.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the splash curtain has a lengthwise passage therethrough adjacent its upper edge in which a coil spring is received. The coil spring is secured at its opposite ends to clamping blocks which are adjustably securable to a stationary shield structure on the grinder. Thus, downward movement of the splash curtain is made possible by the resilient support afforded by the spring.

In another embodiment of the invention, the splash curtain has suitable mounting structures connected to the upper corners thereof, which mounting structures are se curable to clamping blocks so that the curtain may be secured to the shielding structure of the grinder. The

splash curtain is made of a suitable resiliently extensible Y material so that .the upper edge thereof is capable of resilient flexion .and extension in order to be capable of moving downwardly in'response to the weight of the operators arms thereon.

Detailed description Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown an abrasive belt grinding machine having an endless abrasive belt 11 supported for movement around a pair of vertically spaced pulleys (not shown) which are covered by a hood 12. The machine 1li includes a base 13 upon which an open-topped, rectangular pan 14 is supported. A table or work rest 16 is disposed within the pan 14 adjacent the belt 11 so that the workpieces to be ground can be supported thereon. YThe foregoing description relates to a conventional, commercially available abrasive belt grinding machine and since such machines are well known, further descrip-tion thereof'is believed to be unnecessary. If desi-red, however, further details regarding machines of this general type will be found, among other places, in United States Patent No. 2,562,229, assigned to the assignee ofthe present invention.

Coolant liquid is applied to the belt 11 by a spraying apparatus 17 which is supported by brackets, one of which is shown at 18, on the hood 12 adjacent the upper end thereof. The spraying apparatus 17 is comprised of a header 19 having a series of openings (not shown) spaced apart laterally of the belt 11 whereby the liquid can be applied to the belt. Liquid is supplied to the header 19 by a conduit 21. A sheet 22, which preferably is transparent and exible, is secured to the header and hangs downwardly therefrom to restrict splashing or spraying of the liquid. The spraying apparatus 17 is disclosed in detail in United States Patent No. 2,968,897 and reference may be made to this latter patent for further details of this structure. t

A. shielding structure 24 is mounted on the pan 14 and extends upwardly therefrom in order to restrict spraying or splashing of the liquid away from the machine 10 and to confine the liquid so that it can be collected in the pan 14 for recycling. The shielding structure 24 includes a back wall 26 which is mounted upon the top edge of the pan |14 and extends upwardly therefrom. The back wall 26 has an offset ange 27 which overlaps the upper edge portion of the pan 14 for stable support thereby. Sidewalls 28 and 2.9 also extend upwardly from the top edge of the pan 14 and they each have olliset flanges, one of which is shown at 31, whereby they are stably supported on said pan. The back wall Z6 and the side walls 28 and 2-9 can be removed by lifting them upwardly with respect to the pan. The side walls 28 and 29 are releasably held in position with respect to the back wall 26 by guides, one of which is shown at 32.

The upper edge of a substantially rectangular splash curtain 36 is releasably secured to and extends between the front edges of the side walls 28 and 29 so as to block forward movement of Vthe liquid out of the machine 1t). The opposite ends of the upper edge of the splash curtain 36 are secured to the side walls 28 and Z9, as described in greater detail hereinbelow, and said curtain hangs downwardly so that its lower edge is received within the pan 14 adjacent the front wallthereof.

The splash curtain 36 is comprised of a sheet of suitable tlexible material, such as neoprene, which is durable and capable of use with the liquid applied to belt 11 without deteriorating at an unacceptably rapid rate. The

upper edge portion of the splash curtain 36 is folded backv upon itself and two vertically spaced lines 37 and 3S of stitching secure the two thicknesses 39 and 41 (FIG- URES 3 `and 4) of the sheet material to each other. There is thus dened a passage 42 extending lengthwise along the upper edge of the splash curtain 36. The lower edge of the splash curtain 36 preferably isformed in the same Yfashion as the upper edge thereof so fthat theY splash curtain can be inverted in order to further extend the life thereof.

A coil spring 43 extends lengthwise through the passage 42 and its two end convolutions, one of which is shown at 40, are bent into generally axially extending positions so that Ithey extend beyond the lateral edges of the splash curtain 36. The end convultions extend into axial openings, one of which appears at 45, in a pairof clamping blocks-46 and 47. Set screws, of which one appears at 44, are threaded into the clamping blocks 46 and 47 and they pass through the end convolutions of the spring 43 wherebyfsaid coily spring is secured to said clamping blocks. It is to be noted that the splash curtain 35 is not secured to the clamping blocks 46 and 47 but, rather, is resiliently supported by the spring 43 which is secured at its ends to said clamping blocks.-

The clamping blocks 46 and 47 each have `a slot 48 extending part way `therethrough in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axisof the opening 45 and preferably intersecting said opening at the 1 inner end thereof. Theft-ont edge portions of the side walls 28 and 29 are received into the slots 48 and the clamping blocks 46 and 47 are releasably secured to said side walls by thumb screws 49, whichpreferably are axially aligned with the openings 45. VThus, the clamping blocks 46 and 47, and thereby the splash curtain 36, are releasably and vertically adjustablyl secured to the front edge portions of the side walls 2S and 29.

Operation In the normal operation of the machine 10, cooling liquid is applied onto the continuously moving belt 11 by the spraying apparatus 17 in the Vmanner described in detail in United States Patent No. 2,968,897. The back wall 26 and the side walls 28 and 29 substantially eliminate spraying or splashingof the liquid backwardly or sidewardly from the machine. The splash curtain 36 does likewise for the liquid tending to pass forwardly out of the machine. The liquid thrown against the side walls 28 and 29, the Yback wall 26 and the curtain 36 will be directed thereby into the pan 14 so that it can be collected and recycled in conventional fashion. Y

It will be observed that the operator can place his arms over the upper edge of the splash curtain 36 so as -to be able to manipulate the workpiece. on the table and, if necessary, to manually hold the workpiece against the belt.V Because of the spring 43 and the lack of connection betweenthe curtain y36 and the clamping blocks 46 and 47, the operator can rest his armson the upper edge of the splash curtain without discomfort, the spring 43 yielding as necessary in order to make this possible. It it should be necessary -to do so, the spring 43 and the curtain 36 can be considerably distorted so that the grinding operation can be carried out'in the most expeditious fashion while at the sameV time minimizing spraying of the liquid out of Ithe machine as much aspossible. For example, an elongated workpiece can kbe rested at on Ythe table 16 and allowed to extend forwardly therefrom over the upper edge Vof the curtain and the spring 43 will dex as necessary to make this arrangement of the workpiece possible.

Y While the splash cur-tain'36 will not-completely eliminate splashing and spraying of liquid out ofthe machine, such will be substantially minimized. At the same time, the operator will have full and convenient Vcontrol over the grinding operation, particularly over the manipulation of the workpiece. Moreover, the operator'will be able to rest his arms on the splashcurtai'n without discomfort. This combination of advantages has not been achieved to the samedegree in prior art splash curtains intended for the same purposes. 7

`modified splash curtain 61 which is comprised of a sheet 62 of a suitable flexible and resiliently extensible material, such as neoprene, and having an integral bead 63 along its upper edge. If desired, the lower edge (not shown) of the sheet 62 may have a similar bead so that the sheet can be inverted. The upper corners of the sheet 62 are covered by one-piece, substantially triangular corner plates, one of which is shown at 6d. The corner plate 64 is comprised of a front wall 67 and a back wall 68 which lie against the front and back surfaces of the sheet 62 and they are connected by a partially circular connecting portion 69 which snugly encircles the bead 63. Rivets 71 and 72 extend through the front wall 67, the sheet 62 and the back Wall 68 to thereby rigidly secure the corner plates to said sheet.

A mounting rod 73 is xedly secured, as by welding, to the front wall 67 of the corner plate adjacent the connecting por-tion 69 thereof. The mounting rod 73 extends laterally beyond the side edge of the sheet 62. The rod 73 is received into a clamping block 74 which is here shown as being identical with the clamping blocks 46 and 47 in the previously described embodiment or" the invention, and said rod is secured to said clamping block by a set screw 75.

The structure at the other upper corner of the splash curtain 61 is identical to that previously described and hence needs no description.

The mounting and operation of the splash curtain 61 is substantially the same as that of the splash curtain 36 previously described. This embodiment of the invention differs, however, in that rather than relying on expansion and contraction of a spring with the splash curtain not changing in length, here the sheet 62 including the bead 63 is capable of stretching laterally to some extent so that the operator can comfortably rest his arms thereon and can flex and stretch the curtain in order to perform the necessary operations incident to the grinding procedure. While the splash curtain 61 may not be capable of stretching or flexing to the same extent as the splash curtain 36, nevertheless, it will be adequately exible for most purposes.

While particular preferred embodiments of the invention have been described, the invention contemplates such changes or modifications therein as lie within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A belt-type grinding machine comprising:

a substantially vertically arranged, movable, abrasive belt;

a work support located in front of a course of said belt;

a splash curtain and means supporting said splash curtain with its upper edge suspended in front of said work support and extending laterally with respect to said course of said belt, the zone above said splash curtain being unobstructed so that Workpieces can be placed on said Work support between said splash curtain and said course of said belt; and

yieldable means on said upper edge of said splash curtain whereby an operator may rest his arms thereon without discomfort.

2. A belt-type grinding machine comprising:

a substantially vertically arranged, movable, abrasive belt;

a work support located in front of a course of said belt;

a shield structure having upstanding back and side walls located in back and on either lateral side of said belt;

a flexible splash curtain having resilient means extending along the upper edge thereof and means connected to the opposite ends of said resilient means and to said side walls for supporting said splash curtain on said side Walls, the remainder of said resilient means being free from support so that it can be deformed, said splash curtain being disposed in front of said work support with its upper edge suspended for yieldable downward movement in response to the weight of an operators arms placed thereon.

3. A belt-type grinding machine according to claim 2, in which said supporting means includes clamps secured to said resilient means, and releasably, vertically adjustably connected to said side walls, the remainder of said curtain being free from connection to said Side walls so that it freely hangs downwardly from said side walls.

4. A belt-type grinding machine according to claim 2, in which said splash curtain has a passage extending lengthwise thereof adjacent the upper edge thereof, said resilient means comprising a spring extending through said passage, said supporting means Comprising clamp means secured to the ends of said spring, said clamp means being releasably and vertically adjustably connected to said side Walls.

5. A belt-type grinding machine according to claim 2, in which said splash curtain is of integral construction and its upper edge is laterally resiliently extensible;

mounting means connected to the opposite lateral ends of said splash curtain; and

said supporting means comprises clamp means secured to said mounting means, said clamp means being releasably and vertically adjustably connected to said side walls.

6. A belt-type grinding machine comprising:

a base;

a substantially rectangular, open-topped pan mounted on said base;

a hood extending upwardly from within said pan;

a substantially vertically arranged, movable abrasive belt supported within said hood;

means for applying liquid to said belt;

a work support located within said pan and in front of a course of said belt;

a shield structure comprised of upstanding side and back walls mounted on the upper edge of said pan on the opposite lateral sides of and in back of said hood, respectively;

a flexible splash curtain extending between said side walls at the front end thereof, the lower end of said curtain extending into said pan whereby said curtain and said side and back walls prevent liquid from spraying or splashing out of said pan;

support means connected to said splash curtain adjacent the opposite lateral ends thereof, said support means being resiliently yieldable so that said splash curtain can be resiliently displaced downwardly; and

clamping blocks vertically adjustably secured to the front edges of said side walls and connected to said supporting means so that said splash curtain freely hangs downwardly therefrom.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,596,836 5/52 Bruhl. 2,968,897 fl/61- Hammond 51-263 LESTER M. SWINGLE, Primary Examiner. 

1. A BELT-TYPE GRINDING MACHINE COMPRISING: A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY ARRANGED, MOVABLE, ABRASIVE BELT; A WORK SUPPORT LOCATED IN FRONT OF A COURSE OF SAID BELT; A SPLASH CURTAIN AND MEANS SUPPORTING SAID SPLASH CURTAIN WITH ITS UPPER EDGE SUSPENDED IN FRONT OF SAID WORK SUPPORT AND EXTENDING LATERALLY WITH RESPECT TO SAID COURSE OF SAID BELT, THE ZONE ABOVE SAID SPLASH CURTAIN BEING UNOBSTRUCTED SO THAT WORKPIECES CAN BE PLACED ON SAID WORK SUPPORT BETWEEN SAID SPLASH CURTAIN AND SAID COURSE OF SAID BELT; AND YIELDABLE MEANS ON SAID UPPER EDGE OF SAID SPLASH CURTAIN WHEREBY AN OPERATOR MAY REST HIS ARMS THEREON WITHOUT DISCOMFORT. 